What Dreams May Come?
by Camille Strawhat Pirate
Summary: Sanji is a young adult just starting out in life. Though sometimes it doesn't feel quite right. This only gets worse when Sanji starts having odd dreams of being a part of a pirate crew called the Strawhat Pirates. Oddly, this dream world feels more real to the blonde than reality. He cant help but wonder... Which world is real? ZoSan
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Who are you?

Steam rose up past blonde locks as Sanji worked on the sixth meal since the Baratie opened that afternoon. Soon, people would start flooding in. Sanji liked the peaceful time before rush-hour where he could enjoy cooking at his own pace. He loved the quietness of the kitchen where it was just him, his thoughts, and his creations. It gave him a feeling of nostalgia.

"Oi, Sanji, the order almost done?" Patty questioned, popping his head into the kitchen. "Yeah, I'll be out in a minute." The blonde answered, bringing the hot pan over a plate.

Sanji locked the doors to the Baratie behind hi as he left. It had been a busy night and he was ready for a good night's sleep. The drive home went by in a haze. He unlocked the door to his small apartment and flipped the lights on. It was quiet as usual, which always made him feel oddly uncomfortable which he couldn't quite explain. Sometimes he got that strange feeling that something was out of place in his life. This feeling hadn't always been there though. It had started a few months ago. Of coarse, he just dismissed the feeling. His father, Zeff, said it was normal. Sanji was a young adult, ust getting started in life after all.

After a shower Sanji put on some shorts and slipped into bed. It didn't take hi long to fall into a peaceful slumber...

Sanji woke to the sound of the waves rocking the Thousand Sunny. His eyes shot open and he bolted up in his small bed. Wait... Thousand Sunny? He looked around the boy's cabin and saw the crew of the ship sleeping in their own beds. Where the crap was he? Oh yeah, the Sunny but where was that? He knew this place but he had no idea how! As if out of habit, he made his way to the kitchen, which for the record he had no problem locating, as if he had done it a million times before.

Soon, the crew came to the kitchen. Sanji already had breakfast on the table of coarse. Though he didn't really know why. The crew seemed to find this normal though. They all greeted him and settled down to start their rowdy meal. Someone was missing... Sanji went out to the deck and headed for the crow's nest without a second thought. Inside, he found a green haired swordsman sleeping on the couch. The man seemed to sense his presence and opened his eyes. His dark gaze landed on Sanji, making the cook shudder for reasons beyond him. "What do you want cook?" Something about that deep, uncaring voice irritated the cook. "It's breakfast time Marimo." He replied dryly.

"So?"

"So come eat breakfast idiot." With that, Sanji walked out and headed to the kitchen once again. The cook smirked when the swordsman seemed to follow him. For some reason he felt like he had won something by getting the other man to come to his meal.

Everyone ate their breakfast and left after thanking Sanji. The Marimo stayed behindto help clean up, which Sanji got the feeling he didn't do often. He sat the dishes in the sink beside Sanji silently. The cook started washing the dishes as the Marimo dried them. Neither said a word. Finally, the swordsman broke the silence. "Oi, cook."

"Yeah?"

There was a few seconds of silence as the other man seemed to be trying to find what to say. "You didn't go crazy over the girls today..." He said awkwardly. "Huh?" What did he mean by that? Was that something he usually did? He did have to admit, though, those girls were beautiful! Still, somewhere deep down he knew he understood what the swordsman was trying to say but something was keeping him from accessing it. "I guess it's just weird... The only time you never swoon over them like an idiot is when something is wrong." The man was starting to feel uncomfortable under the cook's quizzical gaze. Finally, Sanji spoke. "I know it sounds weird but... I don't even think I know your name...

The last thing Sanji saw was the other man's eyes widen in a mix of shock, confusion, and horror before he woke up...

**Woah... well sorry its so short. I had written this down on paper first so it looked like I had more :P I've had writer's block for about a year now and then this idea suddenly hit me! So Sanji's had his first dream but for some reason it doesn't feel like the first dream... or a dream for that matter. Will he revisit this pirate dream land again? Hmmm... guess you'll have to keep reading :D **


	2. After All, It Was Only a Dream

Chapter 2: After All, It Was Only a Dream...

Sanji's eyes fluttered open. He was back in his bed in his small apartment. The blonde let out a sigh. Was that a dream? It was so vivid and felt so real, so right. He wished he could go back to sleep and revisit that ship and the people on it but even if he could go back to sleep he doubted the dream would come back. With a regretful sigh he pulled himself out of bed. He went through the same boring routine as he did every morning: Breakfast, shower, clothes, work.  
At work, the cook was going through the motions of his job but his thoughts were taking him miles away. He just couldn't stop thinking about that dream.  
"Helloooo! Earth to Sanji!" It was Sanji'd friend, Ace. Sanji snapped back to reality. Today he was working the bar since the guy who was supposed to be doing it called in sick. Ace and Smoker were regulars at the Baratie and Sanji's close friends.  
"Sorry, what was that?" The blonde asked dumbly. Smoker tried to suppress a grin.  
"What's up with you today man? You've been spacing out all morning." Ace asked.  
"Yeah, sorry about that..." Sanji sighed.  
"What's on your mind?" Smoker questioned, lighting another cigar to add to the collection in his mouth. Sanji gave them a semi-convincing smile.  
"It's nothing really. Just a little tired." Ace and Smoker exchanged a doubtful look but decided it best to ust let the cook be.  
"Whatever you say Sanji" Ace smiled that charming smile of his. "We'll be here if you ever want to talk about it." Sanji smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I know. Thanks"  
Smoker waved goodbye to Sanji as the blonde locked the Baratie. Ace's arm was slung over Smoker's shoulders limply, mumbling something about toasters and cheese as the older man dragged the drunk Ace to their car. The two of them had ended up staying at the bar all day, drinking and chatting to Sanji. The cook wasn't really complaining though. The distraction had kept him from thinking about that stupid dream, which was probably what his friends had been aiming at. Sanji smiled to himself. Those two have always been like that. Not knowing what was wrong never stopped them from trying to cheer Sanji up. They respected his privacy and in return Sanji respected them. That reminded Sanji of someone but he couldn't quite place who. He dismissed the thought with a shrug. Either way, he felt much better now. There was no reason to worry about that dream. After all, it was only a dream. He'd probably forget all about it in a few days.  
Feeling much better now that he had come to terms with his thoughts, Sanji made his way home and into his soft bed. Within moments after shutting his eyes the blonde fell into sleep.

Sanji was sitting on a small bed in what seemed to be the ship's infirmary. He looked around and saw the green haired swordsman from before leaning against the far wall, his muscular arms crossed over his broad chest. He was staring at something else in the room. Sanji followed his gaze and saw a small animal rummaging through medical books trying to find the one he needed. Sanji recognized his as a reindeer, though he had never seen one before. He also didn't find it odd that the reindeer was walking on two legs or that he shape-shifted to a bigger form to reach to the top of the bookshelf. Normally someone would freak out about that right? It wasn't exactly normal. Why was he not bothered by this? Oh yeah, he was dreaming. Anything could happen in dreams. But this didn't feel like a dream... He'd never dreamed anything this vivid before so it couldn't possibly be a dream right?  
Finally,the small deer seemed to find the book he was searching for and opened it up on his work desk. A few page flips later, the deer walked over to Sanji and began checking him over. The cook didn't stop him. Something about the little doctor made Sanji want to trust him. After he was done, the doctor jotted a few things down on a clipboard and sat down in a chair in front of Sanji.  
"I'm going to ask you a few questions, ok? I need you to answer them as truthfully as you can." The doctor said in a cutely high pitched voice. Sanji nodded. He couldn't say no to the adorable little deer. The doctor gave a firm nod and continued.  
"Do you know my name?"  
Sanji looked the deer over, trying to think of his name. The information was there somewhere but he just couldn't find it.  
"No." He answered with a defeated sigh. The doctor nodded again and the blonde could have sworn he saw hurt flash in the other's eyes but he couldn't be sure. It happened so fast he could have been mistaken.  
"Do you recognize me at all?" He asked next, his voice steady and serious.  
The first thought that crossed his mind was "Of coarse I recognize you! Why the hell wouldn't I?!" but he didn't even know the deer's name... That first thought had come so readily but he also had the feeling he didn't know this doctor. How could someone feel both ways?  
"I-I'm not sure..." He stuttered.  
"Then, what do you feel when you see me?"  
How was he supposed to explain this? The blonde hesitated a bit before answering.  
"It's hard to explain but... Well, I get the feeling i have no idea who you are. It feels like this is my first time meeting you."  
Which it was, wasn't it? He glanced over at the swordsman still standing against the wall. He was glaring down at the floor, his eyebrows scrunched together, and his mouth pulled down in a frown. Sanji's heart clenched at the sight. No... That man couldn't be a stranger...  
"But at the same time... deep down I have this sense of familiarity." He let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know. It's confusing and frustrating. Like when you're trying to think of a word and its on the tip of your tongue. I know I know you but I can't get to that part of my brain or something!" The cook ran a hand through his hair. The doctor wrote something down before sitting the clipboard down. The swordsman was staring at Sanji now, his expression unreadable.  
"I think that's enough for today. I think we've all had enough for today... We'll continue this later." The small doctor said caringly. "I'm going to start researching with the information that I got today and hopefully find out whats wrong with you." Sanji nodded. "Zoro, I need you to keep an eye on him, ok?" The doctor said to the swordsman.  
Zoro! Now that he heard his name Sanji felt stupid for not knowing it.  
Zoro glared. "Why do I have to do it? Why can't Luffy or Usopp?" An image of a dark haired boy in a straw hat and a curly haired boy with a long nose flashed in Sanji's mind.  
"Everyone else is too busy or I can't trust with this." The doctor explained. Zoro's scowl deepened. "Please Zoro? It's just till I figure out what's wrong." He pleaded. Zoro just huffed. Seemed like not even the Marimo could say no to the little deer.  
"Let's go then..." Zoro mumbled unhappily and walked out. Before following, Sanji looked at the doctor. "Can you... um, tell me your name?" He asked uncertainly. The little doctor smiled up at him. "Chopper" he answered. Sanji smiled. That's right... Tony Tony Chopper...

Sanji's alarm woke him. He groaned inwardly. Great. Another day of work. Not that he hated his job, he loved cooking. Just, the feeling of cooking for people you care for sounds way better that cooking for strangers who don't give a crap about you or your food. The memory of the pirate crew at breakfast table that first night he dreamed of that world flashed before him. They had all thanked him and seemed to enjoy his food. He was known as that ship as the Strawhat's Chef and they respected him for it. It would be great if that were real... But it was just a dream and it always would be...

**Sorry for the delayed update. I'm on break so I've been to lazy to update :p But once school starts up again I'll update way more. So, soon I'm hoping to write a little in Zoro's POV. O_O not sure how that's going to work out... Please keep reading! XD Sooner or later I'll get ZoSan in here!**


	3. How It Should Be

On the Thousand Sunny, Zoro was sitting in the kitchen watching the cook move gracefully around his work space. He'd much rather be napping on the grassy deck or training in the crow's nest but he'd been stuck with the job of babysitting the cook. It seemed the idiot had decided out of the blue to forget everything. He had to admit, in the privacy of his own mind of coarse, he was a little worried about the blonde. Sanji went through the same motions he did every day but it was like he wasn't really there. He wouldn't respond when talked to; he wouldn't even respond to his own name. He still made snacks for his ladies but he never swooned. He just handed them their snacks mutely. It had happened so suddenly too. Zoro frowned at the memory of the cook saying he didn't know his name in the kitchen a few days ago.

Sometimes the cook would snap out of his haze. Though, he still acted like he didn't know them. Chopper didn't have any idea as to what was wrong with Sanji and Robin knew of no myths or legends like this.  
Zoro sighed. Sanji was laying food out on the table Zoro was at, not acknowledging his presence there at all. It was really starting to grate on the swordsman's nerves. Sanji should have said some snarky comment and tell him to get the hell out of the way! but no, he just moved around him with that stupid glazed over look in his eye. And not to mention how boring this was. He was stuck with the one person on this ship who couldn't say a word. All he could do was fallow the blonde around. It's not like Sanji ever did anything dangerous, why did he have to watch him? All the blonde did was sleep, cook, serve, cook, then sleep. At least the old Sanji fought with him.  
That's what Zoro missed the most (not that he missed the love-cook). He missed how Sanji would get that glint in his deep blue eye when they used to fight. How only Zoro could get the cook to stop swooning like an idiot with just one comment. He missed the stupid nickname, how his voice got a little lower when he got angry, and he even missed the rude way the cook would wake him up for dinner.

Zoro watched as the cook stopped in his movements of setting the table to look around in confusion a moment. The swordsman had seen this happen a few times before. It meant the cook had snapped out of his haze. Chopper had told him to act as normal as possible when the cook came to full consciousness. The little doctor said that the best way for Sanji to get better was to figure out as much as he could by himself.  
"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to finish setting the table?" The swordsman said, clarifying what the cook was suppose to do.  
Reluctantly, Sanji put the last bowl in his hand on the table.

* * *

Sanji had started dreaming almost as soon as he closed his eyes. When he had found himself in the galley of that ship with the Marimo, it took him a moment to process what was going on. Then he remembered he was dreaming again. Zoro was at the table, sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest, frowning. He frowned back and went to the galley door to call everyone in for dinner. He was starting to understand more about his role here as cook a little more. Or was he just remembering? He couldn't tell. He had been to the dream ship quite a few times now. Rather than be confused, he decided to just go along with the dream.  
In the last few visits, he had learned all of the crew member's names. They had all seemed familiar like Chopper's and Zoro's.  
The crew filed loudly into the galley for what Sanji guessed was dinner.

* * *

Zoro started eating once everyone was at the table, as he watched the blonde swoon over the girls. That was one bright side to the dazed cook, he didn't swoon. Zoro hated when Sanji threw himself at the girls. It just annoyed him.  
"Tch... Idiot." He muttered. Sanji seemed to hear him though and turned on the swordsman with a death glare. Zoro smirked inwardly. This was how it was supposed to be.  
"What was that, Stupid Marimo?" The blonde ground out through clenched teeth.  
The first few times Sanji had snapped out of it, He didn't rise to any of the swordsman's bait. He would just glare at him and move on. But it seemed he had fallen back into their usual routine pretty fast.  
The crew watched as the two bickered. Silently they were all enjoying it. They were all thinking the same thing.  
This is how it should be...  
Though, they knew soon Sanji would once again leave them. He would be right in front of them, yet so far out of reach.


End file.
